The Real Meaning of Zombie Slaying

There was a reason I popped out of my bed ten minutes before my alarm went off on Sunday morning. No, it wasn't cause I was super excited for church (though I wasn't dreading it either), it was because yesterday was the day of the 2nd Annual Zombie Shoot! It was my first year and I was excited (and a little nervous) Let me give you an idea of the situation.

It was hot. I mean really, really hot. We get out to the target area and start getting everything set up. Clear brush here, set up zombie there, move the barrel, and use your "hand-gun" to make sure the shot was possible.  I'm game for setting things up. First of all, because I like knowing where things are, second, because I was then more comfortable with the area, and finally, cause it gave me time to calm down a little.

I'm not going to lie. I was nervous. I hadn't shot a gun in who knows how long and I had never ever used a semi-automatic gun, or an open site, or a magazine clip, all while running. Yeah, now you see why? But I was determined to do it., whatever it took.

Anyway, we get all set up and Dan (that's Steve's brother) gets me set up for a little practice. Thank God for him. I truthfully would have been uncomfortable if he wasn't there. But he let me try the Beretta Storm on Fido, the practice zombie. As soon as I touched that gun, it was like all my nerves where gone. I had forgotten the feeling of holding a rifle; empowering and comfortable. The open site was a little odd for me but I caught right on. Five shots in and I was ready for action.

Mike ran first. He did a great job. So great, in fact, that the nerves were back. I knew that I wasn't competing against him (we were in different classes) but I still had the butterflies. So people went. They shot. They conquered. A couple where "bitten". But for the most part, everyone was doing fine.  Then it was my turn. I took a deep breath, put on the vest, which was quite large on me, and took the gun. Again, the feeling of holding it calmed me. Another thing that helped was the people who came with me. I had Mike as my safety (which seriously made a differene) and Steve as my photo man (which also calmed me just knowing he was there). I got out to the jeep and got set up.

Mike said go and I was on my own. I raced through the first set of zombies. They were all really close, so I didn't aim much :) And then came the running. When I thought about it, I was nervous to be running with this gun. When I was out on the course, though, I didn't even think about it. So I raced to the next obstacle-the barrel.

Throughout the day there were many different ways this obstacle was approached. As you can see I chose the standing one, which seemed to work for me. Actually, it worked very well. I shot the first target.  No problem. Then I did this to the second one...

See that shot in the middle lower region of Achmed? Well, that's actually two shots. Done by me. And it wasn't a double tap. :)

After showing Achmed how I do, it was time for the dreaded magazine change. Now Dan, being the wonderful human being he is, had me load and unload the magazine during the practice. But, unfortunately during practice, it was a very slow thing for me to do. But somewhere in the adrenaline induce high i was in, I became a magazine loading machine. It was not even a difficult thing for me. So I carried on in the course.

I do want to note that all of this description I am giving you happened in less than two minutes, so don't think I was on the course for like a hour...

Section three of the zombie slaying was a breeze, but following it was another magazine change. Unfortunately, this one didn't go as cleanly. In my haste to reload the gun, I dropped the magazine and freaked myself out. I drew a blank. I didn't know if I could still use it or not. But Mike came up in the nick of time and wiped it off and handed it too me. See why I was glad he was there??

So I rampaged on. Apparently something in my brain decided that I was going to not move until all zombies in sight were dead. So, instead of moving on to the next checkpoint, I tool them out right then and there. Hey, it worked!

So the excitement was over. The 1:49 that it took felt like 15 minutes. But it also felt great. I had no idea how I had done, but I had done it and at that moment that was all that mattered. By the way, later I found out how I did;I had hit every target twice (like I was supposed to) and only hit outside of the targeted area four times. That, my friends, put me in second place in my class, behind Matt, who had run it the year before.

But truthfully, through all of this, it's not the point of this post. The thing I learned the most was that people can be amazing. I've hung out with Steve a bazillion times this summer, so I expected him to be supportive, even though this wasn't his forte. (Oh, and he aced the course with an AK-47. Yeah. I'm with him. haha.) But what I didn't expect was everything else that happened. I had only met Dan once and he acted like we've been family forever. And Mike. He was really supportive too. Truthfully I rather go shooting with those three than anyone else. And that's what I got out of the Zombie slaying experience. Not only guys I can trust to keep me safe, but guys who will support me in something I am unsure about and that will make sure I have fun no matter what.